A multidisciplinary approach to sport tourism education in a digital era

Sport tourism has enjoyed a plethora of definitional and theoretical perspectives over the last three decades proposing a dynamic alternative to mass tourism with specific structural features and modus operandi. However, studies examining or suggesting the basic body of knowledge that would satisfy the educational needs of participants in this complex tourism form are lacking. The present study - through an analysis of the involved conceptual fields - aims to minor the gap between theoretical support and direction for tourism academics and the realistic skills needed by the sport tourism industry. The main focus of the study is to provide a theoretical platform based on the available paradigms that would facilitate the build of sport tourism related curriculums. The study embraces an analysis of available secondary sources, academic course outlines, official university’s sites, policy declarations, etc. and parallels theoretical models to produce the basic thematic dimensions of a relevant conceptual framework. Hopefully, the result will offer a vision on the further development of sport tourism education to meet the needs of one of the most promising leisure forms.